The present invention relates to a device for moving a patient from one surface to another surface and, more particularly, the present invention relates to a device for transferring a patient from a hospital bed to another hospital bed or to a gurney.
Medical care has become very expensive. One of the major expenses is the cost of personnel, especially in hospitals. Patients are transferred many times during their stay in hospitals for reasons such as moving to a new room, to an analytical laboratory, blood testing or X-Ray facility, or for surgery. Non-ambulatory patients require use of a wheel chair or a gurney. Presently, in order to transfer a patient from a bed to a gurney, several personnel are required to either physically lift the patient onto a gurney or to move the patient laterally by pulling his or her sheet onto a gurney. This procedure, especially for a heavy patient weighing 200 to 400 pounds, is time consuming, difficult, and ties up several personnel for several minutes. These personnel must leave other duties unattended at the time. This also increases the staffing requirements of a hospital. Furthermore, many times it is difficult to move an injured patient by these procedures without causing discomfort, pain or injury.